Amazon Pampas Tour - Rurrenabaque

11th/Aug

Jesus .... the plan fits 15 people and you can see the piolets. I am not a nervous flyer at all but this thing (plane) made me worry a bit. Luckily Barry a lad from Limerick entertained myself and Donna (a girl I met in line for the checkin) feel very at ease by telling us the story of the Andes crash where the rugby team were forced to eat their friends who had died after the plane crashed.The film about it is called ALIVE I think? It happened in the mountains we were flying over. Jesus.

Well obviously the plane didnt crash and Im still alive. We got to Rurrenabaque safe and sound and its like we landed on a different planet. No more cold, I was back to extreme humidity and heat. You never know whats around the corner when you travel... we tried to book into a hostel that was highly recommended but it was full and so we ended up going next door which was an army barracks that rents rooms. Well I can tell you now if there is ever an army you want to join for a good time its the Bolovian Army! ha It was a gas place where all the old army guys hung around listened to 80's classics and drank beer!!! It was actually a nice place with  a deck overlooking the river.

I hadn't booked my trek in La Paz just flights so I went with Donna that evening to the company she had book with to see if they had any space on her tour the following day. And success they did. I opted for a Pampas tour instead of a jungle tour. This basically meant you were foucsing on the animals of the Pampas  landscape rather than random things in the jungle. Very exciting!!!!!

12th/Aug

At 8am our group meet at the tour operator's office. There was Dan, Rich, Donna, 2 german girls whose names I forget, Joe, John and myself!!! Let the adventure begin. We had to drive for 3 hours first in a jeep to get to where we would meet our guide.

When we arrived we unloaded the jeep with all our supplies and loaded them into our baot that would take us down the river to our camp. After everything was loaded and we were introduced to our guide.... who Im going to call Ben because I actually cant remember his name and I never wrote it down........ off we went. The boat ride down the river was unreal. Literally every meter on the river bed there was an alligator. There were spider monkeys, countless types of birds, some crazy hamster like creature that was the size of a hippo and get this..... PINK DOLPHINS. WOW. The boat ride took nearly 3 hours as Ben went slow so we could see everything.

We eventually pulled up to our camp that would be home for the next two nights. The camp was cool. It was all built on high wodden stilts (so the alligators dont eat you when your sleeping) and we had a cabin to ourselves. We were fed a snack and then watched the sunset over the river which was stunning. We then had dinner and amazing meal and headed to the common room for cards and beers.

13/Aug

ANACONDA HUNTING..... Yes you heard, I was actually going into swamp land to look voluntary for Anacondas Ha. After a delicious brekkie (I have to note that I have been so so lucky that any of these types of trips Iv done I have eaten like a King!) off we went to the SWAMP. God I can tell you it was tough going. Walking through mud, in wellies and in the baking heat is not easy. I think we walked for an hour in this type of terrain before we headed into dryer land. We had zero luck with finding any Anacondas in the swamp which everyone was pretty dissapointed about. We then walked through some more jungle-ish terrain, all the time still on the hunt for the Anacondas. Our guide and co-guide knew exactly where to look for them but we had zero luck. We did however manage to find lots and lots of snake skins about the place. They were pretty cool but stank!

And then just as we had given up Ben lept into action and nabbed an Anaconda! I was releaved and dissapointed that it wasnt the bad boy that ate Jennifer Lopez in the movie, but I suppose if it was that guy Id have been eaten. Anyway we caught a snake wahoooo. I toucjed it for a split second but Il admit I was too chicken to hold it much longer than that. The poor guy got tormented but us for a while and then we let him off to do his thing. We were the only group fro our camp to have caught an Anaconda that morning.... they are shy little guys!

On the trek back to the boat we came across something very sad. A poor cow had gotten its self stuck in some ud. It had apparently been there for a few days. It was still alive but barely. Our guide and the lads from the group did their best to try and get it out. They did but it was so week it couldn't stand up. It was all bud dead so the most humane thing to do was to kill it. We walked off and our guide slit its throat :(

After lunch and a well needed siesta we went Parahna fishing. Like Im typing these sentences and  Im likexcuse me you did what?! ha Yes Parahnas, the guys that will rip the flesh off your skin in a second! 

On the way back to cam our guide got very excited. There was a Tapier swimming in the water! They are very rarely seen by anyone and so it was a rare and wonderful treat for all of us.

We headed up the river in the boat and hopped off at a small bank where there were no alligators. The fishing was tedious... I was the first out of everyone to catch something but unfortunatly it was a sardine not a parahna! We did a miserable job with the fishing, we only caught two.... and it was our guide who caught them!

We then headed further up the river to a spot on the riverbank where there was another camp. Here we watched sunset and even had a game of football against one of the other groups.
After it got dark we headed back to camp for dinner. On the way we all got out our torches and shined them at the water. By doing this we were able to see all the alligators eyes glowing! It was so cool. They are evil things just staring yellow eyed at you from the water.
After another serious meal, beers and many many games of Uno we headed to bed.

14th/Aug

Today was the last day of the tour. Up at 6am to go and watch sunrise. A very early start but worth it!! Then it was back to the camp to have some grub. Today was probably the most anticipated day as we would get to go swimming in the river with the pink dolphins.
Apparently when the pink dolphins are around all the other bad guys that might be in the river swim away! So we got the boat down to a spot in the river where the dolphins are known to hang around ..... AND IN WE GOT. Ugh it felt rotten, the bottom of the river was muddy and slimy and there was always that fear that a gator was going to eat your leg off! What was scary was the alligators on the river bank that were just staring at us like we were dinner!!! But it was great fun, the dolphins were there although they didn't come too close to us.
After lunch we got the boat back to where we had started the trip and then got the jeep back to  Rurrenabaque.

We all checked back into the Army Base, cheap and cheerful! After a little siesta it was party time in the Jungle ... cocktails and tequila all round!

La Paz

Im sitting in a bus station in Tucamon, Argentina waiting for my 1am (14hour) bus to Mendoza. I have a two hour wait but Iv no internet.... I dont fancy ready the book I have its hard work, so Im catching up with the blog in Windows note pad and I will copy it over later.... I am a genius!!

La Paz

La Paz again is a city I really liked but one which I had heard really bad stuff about! Again it just goes to show that you can hear all the travel talk you want on the trail but it really does come down to your own opinion. I had heard off a number of people that it was dangearous etc but I felt fine walking around DURING THE DAY. Once again the usual rules apply.... be safe etc etc. Now Im not silly even the hostel had signs up saying DO NOT GO OUT ON YOUR OWN AT NIGHT. So I didnt and all was well.
Im up a little higher again. La Paz is at 4000ft above sea level. The air is getting thinner all the time and its a city full of hills, damn it!!

7th/Aug

We were up at a decent hour this morning to run across to the Wild Rover and see if we could get a dorm. We did, success!! After getting comfy into our new home myself, Ash and Edel decided to go walk about. We were keen to explore the 'witches market' and see what it was all about.

The main square in La Paz is a busy place, the traffic is so heavy that .... listen to this ..... they have volunteers that are dressed up as Zebras to help you cross the road! It is the weirdest thing ever! And they people in the suits are jumping about the place happy as larry. I used to love holding hands and walking across the road with one of them hahaha!

We walked about the place and did the usual exploring. Then we got to the market. MY god, Iv said already how cheap Bolivia is but Il say it again. Bolivia is cheap. I could have shopped non stop but Ijust dont have the room. The main items that are on sale is 'Alpahcha' wear. Alpacha is an animal similar to a Llama, Im not 100% sure of the differences but I know Alpacha live higher up the mountains and their fur is warmer. Anyway every Gringo will have a piece of Alpacha on them!! Gloves, scarf, hat, socks, leg warmers you name it you can get it. You may have seen my photos where Im sporting my red Llama jumper.... a bargin at €8 (although I did pick this up in Cusco not La Paz) I love it and I never take it off. So as you can imagine we spent hours walking around the hundreds of places you can shop and it was great!! All I picked up was a tiny purse that cost me a euro, like I said I just dont have the room, my case is already bursting.

We finally came to the 'witches section' of the market which was a little dissapointing although we did see some weird shit such as dead baby Llama featuses. SICK.

Now every Sunday the wild rover sends a bus from the hostel to Bolovias version of WWF wrestleing. Yes I cant believe it either but I said Id go alone for the craic. The bus left the hostel at 4pm. On the way to the wrestling we stopped at a view point overlooking La Paz. My god its some city, it is VAST and sprawling and pretty impressive.

The wrestling I can honestly say was the worst 3 hours of my life. Ok maybe the first 10 seconds were a novelty but after that it was SHITE. I dont even want to waste my time talking about it. Luckily I was with the girls so we made our own fun.
We decided to treat ourselves that night and headed to The Steakhouse. This is the type of place you go to at home and pay €50 for a steak. I paid €18, expensive by Bolivian standards but well worth it. And it wasnt just any steak it was a Llama steak. Yes I went there I ate one of the cuttest animals on the planet and it was delicious ha!
After dinner we headed back to the Wild Rover for some serious wild antics :P

8th/Aug

Hangover day.... We managed to leave the hostel for a Korma at about 10 that night but apart from that the day was a write off!

9th/Aug

Spent today walking around La Paz, chilling in the square and the girls went mad in the market again. Ash and Edel are both teachers and were on the good aul teachers holidays so they had loads of roo to stock upon Alpacha crap! ha After the shopping spree we went for a loverly GnT. We really know how to spoil ourselves (dont we girls ;) It was their last night in La Paz so a far well night out was in order. We went mad..... again. Oooops.

10th/Aug

Not in the greatest of shape today and the girls left me this morning for Rio Booo :( Its the hardest thing about travelling, you meet great people but everyone has their own route and has to go their own way in the end.
I did manage to do somthing productive today and booked a trip to the Amazon!! Bolivias share of the Amazon is in Rurai, located on the opposite side of the country to La Paz so an inexpensive internal flight is required to get there.
Bag packed (again), early night.... the jungle awaits me.

Lake Titicaca

5/8

Lake Titicacca is located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It is the highest lake in the world that can be navigated. From Puno on the Peruvian side you could visit the Floating Islands and from Copacabana on the Bolivian side you can visit Isla del Sol.

Our bus arrived in to Puno at crazy O clock ... meaning 5am. Ugh. The joys of travelling! To put it politely Puno is a shithole. The plan all along was to do a half day tour of the floating islands and then head over to Copacabana in Bolovia and when we say Puno we decided to get out of there as soon as possible.

We booked a half day tour with a company at the bus station for 8.30 so until then we hung around and drank coffee.

Id heard loads of great things about the floating islands but I have to say I was really disappointed. The islands themselves are pretty cool. They and everything on them are made out of reeds! But they are so commercial. When we arrived at the islands after a 40 minute boat ride there were literally hundreds of tourist boats everywhere!!

We were brought onto one of the islands by our guide and as it was raining we were then taken into one of the islanders 'house'. It was really interesting to hear how they built the islands etc but we were also told how poor they all were and then they tried to sell everyone their crafts etc which was a bit annoying. We then went to a second island where we got coffee and explored for a while.

The tour lasted four hours and then we were brought back to the bus station. We had our connection to Cop at 2pm so there was a bit more waiting around before we hoped on this bus. The three of us were very happy to be leaving Puno!

So it was bye bye Peru for me and on I went into Bolivia. We had a relatively easy border crossing, no major wait which was nice. 

And then we got to Copacabana. OH MY HOLY GOD. We had arrived in the middle of a local religious festival and the place was MENTAL. There were crowds of people, street vendors, street performers and stalls everywhere. I can tell you how crazy it was but you have to have been there. Now for one I hadnt booked a hostel and do you think we could find one? Nope no bloody way. The four of us (we picked up an English guy called Rich on the way) tried about 10 hostels with no luck. Eventually we found a 'local hostel' that would normally only be used by Bolivians and Peruvians that were there for the festival. It was a hole, it was vile but we literally had no option so we took the room.

Edel went to bed as she wasnt feeling well but myself Ais and Rich decided to brave the outside madness in search of food! We did manage to find a nice place and had a lovely dinner. We also found a tour agency that ran day trips to Isla Del Sol. Unfortunatly after dinner we had to head back to the hostel. That night I literally did not open my case. I slept in the cloths I had on me, on top of the bed covers!!!! All part of the fun though isnt it?!

6th/Aug

Now everyone told me how cheap Bolivia is and I was like yeah yeah great but when I got there and actually saw how cheap it is I was blown away. We got up the next morning early and book our tour.... for €2.50 each..... This tour was basically a 3hr boat trip to he island and then the boat back again later that evening. Seriously 2.50?? Where would you get it?!!!!

The boat out was a nice ride, it was early so it was a bit cold but nothing too extreme.

Isla Del Sol is the first place the Incas set up home and has stunning view and amazing landscape. The boat dropped us off at the north part of the island and we would walk to the southern tip and be picked up again. The walk was amazing, the place is paradise no wonder the Incas like it!! The sun shines but at the same time we were so high up it was cold. Again the altitude was a bitch here... and some parts of the walk were difficult enough but over all an amazing day.

We made it to the southern port just in time for the boat back to Cop. I was tired and slept most of the way which suited me just fine! When we arrived back to Cop we went back to pick up our bags which we had left in storage at the tour company. They also ran buses to La Paz, Bolivias capital which was our next stop. They had one that evening  and with the mental festival still in full swing we decided to get the fuck out of dodge and head to La Paz on a 6.30pm bus.

The bus was 9 hours... an easy length. Half way though we had to get off the bus and get a boat across another lake! None of knew about this part of the journey so we were all a bit confused when we were woken up and shoved on a boat at 10.30pm!!!!

We reached La Paz with no bother and the hostel hunt began again. Wild Rover also have a hostel here so that was our first choice. But yes of course it was full!! But we were ok there was another hostel across the road which we bailed into. We headed over the WR bar for a few drinks but everyone was pretty tired from the constant go over the past few days so we didnt last too long.

HELLO BOLIVIA :)

Leaving Cusco

3rd/August

Jesus its August already, time is flying by but at the same time it feels like ages since I started my trip! So today was my fist day where I was a bit ill. Iv not idea what was wrong with me but I literally spent the day in bed no feeling great :( Poor me

4th/August

Feeling better again today so its time to make a move from Cusco. Today Edel & Ais, two lovely Irish ladies I meet got back from their trek so we made plans to head to Puno later that night. I was a serious chill out day which involved lots of food, manicures, pedicures and massages!!! I also discovered that the hostel had BARRYS TEA. I havnt had a proper cup of tea since I left so I drank about 10 cups ha Life is good :)

Jumped on our night bus at 8pm. Bye Bye Cusco, a brilliant place!

Machu Picchu

Where to begin....

Machu Picchu is probably one of the better know 7 wonders of the world. It was built by the Inca empire in the 15th century and is located in a mountain range north of Cusco 2430 meters above sea level. There a so many different way you can get there.... There are trecks that take 6 days and consist of just trecking and camping or there are more popular trecks such as the one I took.

I opted for the Inca Jungle Trek, a four day action packed treck where on the last day I would reach Machu Picchu.

Day 1:

Soooo excited to be heading off on this trek!! Mark and John opted for a 3 day version which meant we would only be spending the first day together and then  we would head our seperate ways. The bus picked us up at 7am and off we went. It was a three hour drive to our starting point of 4500 meters above sea level. From here we would ountain bike down to 1500 meters!!!! The drive was bumpy and boring, thankfully I slept for the majority of it.

We arrived at our destination. The views were breath taking. We were high in the Andes (4000ft) with snow caped mountains all around us. Our group was introduced to Edger who would be our guide for the next 4days. We were all given our bikes, helmets and safety gear, did some warm up exercises as it was freezing so we had to get the blood going! Then off we went. The road we were cycling on was in perfect condition and wound its self down and down and down the mountain. At first I was a little tentitive but after I got used to the bike and how to take the corners I gave it hell for leather!!

After about an hour and a half we all stoped for lunch. We sat on a bank beside the road and lunch was dished out to us. I was starving and wolfed down the Peruvian version of fried rice that we were given. After we were all fed and watered it was time to move on again. A few layers of clothing were also removed as the lower in altitude we went the hotter it got.

Another hour and a half of adrenlin fuled riding was in front of me. It was awesome!!! The whole ride was down hill so you barely had to pedal but the last part was flat and on gravel and I defo found it tough. Our of a group of 16 I reached the bottom 3rd.... yeah yeah it wasnt a race etc etc but it still felt good :P
There was a bit of a wait at the bottom till everyone arrived down. It was roasting so an ice cold coca cola went down amazing!!

When everyone had recovered from the bike ride we all headed for our first hostel. Hmmmm not the nicest place Iv stayed, in fact Id say this is probably the worst hostel Iv had to stay in but sure its all part of the adventure!

There was an option to head off for an hours white water rafting so I said Id give it a go. It was ok, its not rainy season so the water was pretty calm and not as wild as I would have liked but sure at least I can say I did it!

Unfortunately it was time to say bye to Mark & John before dinner. They headed off with the other few people who were doing the 3 day tour. So as we sat down for dinner our group was finalised.... Remi and Lisa (a lovely French couple), 2 Argentinian ladies, 2 Argentinian lads, Ali & George two sounds lads from Scotland, Rich and Chris from London, Loraine, Ella and Myself!!!!!

After dinner our guide properly introduced himself..... Edear. A sound chap who spoke decent English. He went though the next days itinerary which was pretty much a 22km hike! It would be an early start 6.30am so everyone headed to bed shortly after dinner.

DAY 2:

Ohhh I just love getting out of bed at the crack of dawn... not! 6.30 ugh brekkie at 7 and off we went. We would be walking for nearly 8 hours so it was going to be a tough day. I am not the fittest of people and the minute we started uphill I felt it! Our first stop was to check out some cool natural fruits that the Incas used as war paint! Needless to say we all wanted to be painted up like the Incas. I got some cool symbols meaning 'puma' and 'warrior queen'... I just wish that the guide would have told me it would take about ten washes to get the bloody stuff off my face!!!

After about two hours walk through the mountains stopping along the way to look at the coffee plantations and coco plantations we stopped at a small village and had a rest and some juice. Here Edear told us about traditional Inca dress, instruments, cooking methods etc.. I also got to meet a little brat of a monkey who opened my camera case and tried to rob my camera!!

On we went.... all the time we were walking up and up towards an original Inca trail that we would follow. When we eventually reached the top the views were stunning. We were standing above a valley with a river below us..... the hike up had been well worth it.

More hiking and we stopped off for lunch in a little village which was delicious. After an hours siesta it was time to crack on again. The second part of the day was just as interesting as the first. We eventually wound our way down to the river and had to cross by a number of rather interesting bridges! The first reminded me of something out of Indina Jones, a metal bridge with missing floor boards ... one wrong foot and your gone! After more walking we took another break and had a swim in a shallow part of the river. It was soooo refreshing to take off the hiking boots and soak the feet for a while.

Our second bridge was more interesting than the first. We had to sit in a wooden box in pairs and be shimmied across by the man on the other side of the river! A unique way to cross thats for sure!
At this stage of the day everyone was getting tired and wary so we were happy to hear it was only a short walk more to the hot springs where we could relax for an hour.
Iv never been to hot springs before so I was very excited! They were amazing... the water was roasting an was exactly what everyone needed after a looooong day. After an hour in the springs we headed to the next village of Santa Treasa where we would stay that night.
Big improvement on the hostel although if you wanted a hot shower you had to pay for it. As a backpacker this is a luxury which sometimes you just have to skip, so it was a lovely cold one for me! As we weren't up too early the next morning this was our 'party night' HA. So after our dinner (another really good meal) off we went to the 'disco'...... GAS ..... we were the only people in the place! We all had a few drinks but everyone was pretty wrecked so no one went to wild.

DAY 3:

I was sharing a room with two of the girls last night and I swear to god I did the most embarrassing thing ever. I WOKE UP IN A DIFFERENT BED THAN THE ONE I WENT TO SLEEP IN....WTF?!!!! Apparently I was sleepwalking in the middle of the night! I got up went to the bathroom and then came back and curled up at the end of one of the girls bed :/ She woke up and realised that I was sleepwalking and when I wouldn't move she got up and got into my bed! I was never so embarrassed in my life, luckily the girls were sound and saw the funny side!!!! Needless to say everyone got a great laugh out of it at breakfast...
Today was to be an easy enough day. We would zip line in the morning and then after that we only had an 18km walk HA :)
Zip lining was AMAZING!! Iv never done it before (The little one in Malahide Castle playground doesn't count I dont think ha!) There were 6 lines, 2500 meters of cables and the highest line is 150meters high. It was SCARY at first but on the last line I got brave and went backwards upside down ha! Brilliant mornings fun.

After the zip line we got a mini bus to where we would have lunch and then we set off on our 18km trek. We would be walking along a railway track for the day, it was a straight walk so it wouldnt be that bad. About 15 minutes into the walk we got our first very far away glimpse of Machu Picchu. If we looked up we could see the outline of the Inca creation very far away in the distance. It was an effort to see it even with the zoom on my camera, but it was there!

The walk today wasnt hard but it was long.... we were all very happy when we reached our final stop, the town of Aguas Caliente. This place reminded me of a ski town, there was no snow but it is completely built with tourists in mind and has a ski resort feel to it. Our hostel here was grand and had a hot shower which was nice for a change! We all went our for dinner and straight home to bed. Everyone was WRECKED tired and we were up at 4.30am the next morning. I slept like a log.

DAY 4: MACHU PICCHU

I hate early mornings but this morning when my alarm went off at 4.30am I jumped out of bed! It was Machu Picchu day and I couldn't wait to get there.
Now there are two ways to get up to Machu Picchu, you can walk up the steps or you can flake out and get the bus up. Feck that Id walked this far I was walking the rest of the way! ha
Well my pride nearly killed me. 1307 steps of hell. I nearly died getting there, it was up and up and up and the steps were never ending!!! But when I made it there was a sense of achievement which felt gooood :)

What wasn't good was all the tourists getting off buses ha The sweaty's and the non sweaty's have to line up together which does create some animosity amoung the sweaty's who feel there should be a separate line for those who went through hell to get up here!
Anyway the aim of the game was to get up there before sunrise and we had all made it. We queued up and headed in.
Walking into Machu Picchu was like walking into a postcard. It wasn't real. We have all seen the pictures, documentaries etc but nothing prepared me for the real thing. Standing there watching the sun come up was amazing.

Now, when I booked the trip I was like yeah yeah just sign me up to do everything..... The tour operator said so you want to do Wayna Picchu, and I was like yea sign me up! I of course didnt have a clue what Wayna Picchu was at the time.

THIS IS WAYNA PICCHU:

The peak of Wayna Picchu is 2,720 meters. It was a sacred place for the Inca high priest. I was very lucky to be able to climb it as they only allow 300 people up a day and I was the only one in my group who had managed to get a ticket! HA when I looked at the mountain I nearly died, I was wrecked how the hell was I going to climb that too?!!
Anyway Id think about that later. We spent the morning walking around with Edear who gave us a guided tour. The Incas were amazing and so advanced for their time.

After the tour we said good buy to Edear and it was a chance to do our own thing. We all sat down and had our packed lunches and then it was tie to tackle Wayna Picchu.
My god the climb was unreal. It was vertical all the way up. There was sheer drops and if you put a foot wrong you were dead and that is not an exaggeration. I didnt find the climb that hard it was just surreal that they actually let tourists do it!!!! The top of Wayna Picchu was amazing. How the hell they built what they did up there I have no idea. Again so dangerous once your up there. Be careful or you will die. I spent a good hour up there, I finished off y lunch and lay in the sun. It was the of the most amazing places I have ever been. The view is down on Macchu Picchu and its incredible.

After I got back down I headed back out to the entrance. Macchu Picchu was discovered 100 years ago this year and so they were giving people a special stamp for their passports. Im not sure how legal i is to put a random stamp in your passport for fun but I wanted a stamp!

I chilled out for a while then outside and had a beer. I bumped into more of the group and we headed back in again to have one last ramble around. At this stage it was 4pm and the thousands of tourists were beginning to leave so it was less crowded inside. Up until a few weeks before I got there they were letting up to 4500 people in a day!!! However to try and conserve the mountain they had halved that number a week previous. It was still packed though so I cant imagine what it was like before that.
At 5pm it was well and truly tie to head back to the hostel. I did cheat here and get the bus back down :/
After some food it was time to head to the train station and catch the gringo train back to Cusco.
Everyone was well and truly shattered and slept most of the way back.

I had booked back into the Wild Rover and got in about 11pm. I was wrecked but Mark and John had left a note for me at reception to get my ass to the bar when I got in as it was their last night in Cusco.

So I did.... just for a couple ;)

Cusco

Damn it!!! Once again I have fallen seriously behind..... My last blog entry was 26 July 3 weeks ago and its now Aug 17th.... AUGUST. I cant believe it, where is the time going?! Iv done so so much in the past 3 weeks and Iv also fallen behind on my diary so its going to be tough to recall everything but Il do my best....

26/7/11 Cusco

Im really glad I flew from Colombia to Peru, it has saved me nearly a week in travel time so the few dollers extra to fly were well worth it. Cusco is located near the Andes mountain range and has an elevation of 3,400 meters above sea level. I... CANT.... BREATH. God almighty, its so high and the air is sooooo thin you take 3 steps and you are out of breath. Altitude sickness is a huge thing here, you can take tablets for it but  as I came from Bogota which is pretty high (2600 meters above sea level) I didnt bother.
Cusco is a major stop on the Gringo trail as it was the capital of the Inca Empire and it is from here that you do the famous Machu Picchu treck!

Peruvian & Inca Flag

I arrived in Cusco at 6am, seriously early.  I had my hostel booked so I headed straight to it. THE WILD ROVER is a famous Irish party hostel in SA. And bloody hell did it live up to its name!! You do not stay here if you intend to ever get a good nights sleep! There is a bar in the hostel that can be heard from most rooms and there are always people in and out of the room at all hours, whether they are heading out on early morning trecks or coming in from a night out!!! Check in wasnt till 2pm which was a pain in the ass so I hung around, got some food and booked my Inca Jungle Treck for the following Saturday. I slept most of the day as I had stayed up all night in the airport the night before and was pretty tired.

Turned out I was sharing my room with a load of 21 year old Brazilian lads who were all nice lads. Headed to the bar with them tonight and had a few drinks but nothing too mad. One of the rules is not to drink on your first night at altitude, so I was a good girl and followed the rules!

27/7/11

Eh yea I may as well have gone out and got pissed last night as the 3 beers I had gave me one of the worst hangovers ever!!! I shouldnt have had any at all..... I eventually draged myself out of bed and headed off out to walk around cusco. Beautiful, beautiful place. The weather here is weird, the sun is shining but its crisp and cold. Everything is uphill and down hill so walking around was hard. It was gas looking around and watching all the gringos huffing and puffing around the place.
Im ashamed to say I had a Maccy D's :( Im walking around this beautiful square and there it is in front of me, I couldnt resist! Plus they do a chicken big Mac here so that hooked me. I pretty much chiled out for the rest of the day and explored the city. Took it handy tonight and was in the leaba early.

30/7/11

Probably one of the best days of my trip so far just beacuse I accidently bumped into an old friend!
So Im up early and head down the stairs to the lobby, laptop in hand. I look up as Im halfway down the stairs and whos sitting on a bean bag in front of me but MARK MULLOOLY! He looks up and shouts then I start to scream and we cause a whole lot of comotion. For those of you who dont know, I went to college with Sparky and we spent an epic summer after our finals together in NY. I knew Mark was travelling SA but I had NO IDEA that we would be in Cusco at the same time! It was amazing and great to see someone who I actually knew already! Double excellent was the fact that Mark & his mate he was travelling with John had also booked the Inca Jungle Treck for Saturday!!!!!!

There was no escaping it now.... CARNAGE was about to insue!!

Messy night to say the least .... rum and coke + altitude = early night for Aids :P

28/7/11

PERU INDEPENDANCE DAY

Hangovers all round this morning so another trip to mac donalds was on the cards when we all eventually managed to get out of bed. We spent the day today chiling out on the main square. Myself and Emma (an English girl we had hooked up with) got hair braids which I LOVE!!

We wandered around and hit a few random museums and then we went in search of Peruvian flags. Wild Rover was throwing a special party that night in honour of Independance so we wanted to get kitted out for the event. You would think that being in Peru a Peruvian flag would be easy to come across.... Nope of course not! We walked for ages to try and find them but its on these random adventures that you always run into the coolest stuff. We stumbeled upon a religious prade and traditional dancing that was fun to watch and follow for a while. The traditions which the people here have a so far removed from anything we wold see at home its amazing!

We eventually managed to get our hands on some flags in the local market and headed back to WR to paaaaaaaaaaaarty!
A crazy night was had by all. I shall spare the details but it involved: flags, facepaint, nightclubs,
fountains, casinos and cats!!!

I LOVE CUSCO.....

29/7/11

Getting in a 6am does generally mean sleeping for the day which is what I did. My self John and Mark did make it out of the hostel to get food at one point but thats as about as productive as the day got. Tomorrow was Machu Picchu and we were being picked up at 7am to get going.

So an early night.